McDonald's Shakes Up U.S. Team After Sluggish Sales

After a rare sales miss, McDonald's (MCD) announced a shakeup of its U.S. leadership team.

The world's largest burger chain said Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA, will be replaced by Jeff Stratton, its global chief restaurant officer, effective Dec. 1.

The company denied there was no connection between Fields' departure and the notice a week ago of the first monthly decline in sales in nine years. Sales at its U.S. restaurants open at least a year were down 2.2% in October. Europe, McDonald's largest market, was also down 2.2%.

McDonald's has been outperforming rivals. But a persistently sluggish economy at home, rising food costs and fierce competition from rivals appear to have taken a bite out of the chain's sales. Its Dollar Menu items have been popular, but efforts to move customers up to slightly pricier items on the "Extra Value Menu" haven't borne fruit.

Still, the company credits Fields, 57, with major initiatives, including expanding the McCafe beverage menu, and a revamping of the Happy Meal menus to include healthier options such as apple slices and smaller, kid-size french fry portions.

"We appreciate and salute Jan for more than three decades of inspired leadership and impactful service under the Arches," CEO Don Thompson said in a statement.

Stratton, 57, has worked for McDonald's for more than 40 years, starting as an employee at a restaurant in Detroit. He most recently oversaw nearly 34,000 of the company's restaurants globally. Now he'll focus on the 14,000 U.S. locations and report to COO Tim Fenton.

"His transition into this key leadership role reflects our deep bench of talent at McDonald's," Thompson said in a statement.

McDonald's arch-rival Burger King Worldwide (BKW) last month reported stronger-than-expected results on new menu items and a new advertising push. Shares were down fractionally Thursday afternoon at 15.28.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), a burrito chain in which McDonald's was an early investor, is still growing, though its shares have fallen as same-store growth slows. Its shares were up fractionally to 256.71 intraday Thursday.

The panini sandwich maker Panera Bread (PNRA) last month reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook. Shares were down more than 1% to 157.25 Thursday afternoon.

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07/29/2015 02:56 PM ET

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